Electric-heater faucet



G. H. HART.

ELECTRIC HEATER FAUCET.

APPLICATION HLED ria. la. |919.

1 ,$57,287. Patented Nov. 2, 1.920.

z'HEETs-SHEET l.

m (UTA-1 l/V VE N TOR A TTURNEYS G. H. HART.

ELECTRIC HEATER FAUCET.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I8, 1919.

atenwd Nov. 2, 1920.

NI/ENTOR ATT EVS UNITED STATES GEORGE H. HART, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

ELECTRIC-HEATER FAUCET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

Application led February 18, 1919. Serial No. 277,765.

To all whom t may concern:

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9 9, Fig. 2;

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. HART, a" and citizen of the United States, residinr at city of Hartford, county of Hartford, ttate of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Heater Faucets, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvementsin electric heater faucets and has for its object to provide a faucet having a rotary switch which controls simultaneously both the current and the water supply, so constructed that when the current is on and the switch handle released the flow of water can not be entirely cut off, and also a needle valve construction whereby when the handle is released the iow of water may be varied to obtain flows of water at different temperatures. A further object of my invention is to provide a heater faucet in which the conductors shall be protected against damage and short-circuiting by leakage of water. A further object of my invention is to provide a faucet having a new and improved electric heater. A further object of my invention is to provide in such a faucet a. cover for the switch mechanism which is held in place by a safety securing means.

The following is a description of an embodiment of my invention, reference being had to the 'accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 shows a vertical section of a faucet embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on a plane at right angles to that of Fig. 1 with the valve land switch in open position;

Fig. 3 shows, on an enlarged scale, a detail of the means for holding they switch mechanism cover in place;

Fig. 3a shows a plan View of a nut constituting a portion of said holding means;

Fig. 4 shows a detail of the vwater valve of the faucet, the same being in open position;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fifr. 4-

Fig is an enlarged view of the parts shown in Fig. 5, showing the position of the parts when the valve is in partially open position;

Fig. 7 is a plan view with the switch cover removed;

Fig. 8 is a plan view with the switch removed;

Fig. l() shows in detail the stop plate and catch of the switch. Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 1s a faucet base to the lower side of which 1s secured a tubular member 2 and upon the upper side of which is mounted the insulating base of a rotary snap switch 3. lVithin the tubular member 2 is supported a carrier 4 of insulating material on which is carried a spirally wound helix 5, constituting an electrical resistance controlled by the rotary snap switch. The lower end ofthe tubular member 2 is provided with a valve seat for a needle valve 6, which is held in position by a plate 7 seated within a suitable recess and held in position by upset portions of lthe tubular member 2. Beneath the plate 7 1s a spiral spring 8 bearing upon a shoulder 9 carried by the needle valve, which tends to move the needle valve toward its seat. The upper end of the needle valve is provided with a head secured thereto, said head having two horizontal projections 10 and two vertical projections or wings 11. The vertical projections coperate with wings 12 upon a winged spindle 13, which at its upper end is connected with the switch spindle 15, the winged spindle passing through 'a suitable stuing box 16. In order to permit the easy assembling of the parts, I extend 'the switch spindle 15 below the base where it engages the upper end of the valve stem 13, one of these parts being provided with a socket 14 and the other part being provided with a plug or tongue 15 fitting into f said recess (Fig. l) so that when one rotates the other does also, thus establishing an easily separable driving connection. By proportioning the parts so that the projection (loes not reach the bottom of the socket and the top of the rod is not in engagement with the spindle atthe base of the projection, allowance is made for variations which are bound to occur in the manufacture of porcelain or similar switch bases.

The lateral projections 10 engage cam surfaces 17-17, whose highest points are at 18-18, and whose lowest points are at 19h19. When the electric switch is closed the projections 10 engage the high points 18-18. When the arms register with the low points 19-19 the switch is open. At the lowest points there are abruptly formed grooves resulting in the abrupt final clossog ing of the needle valve. As the winged spindle 13 is rotated by the rota-tion of the switch spindle, the needle valve 6, together with its head, is rotated, causing the laterally extending arms 10 to engage successive portions of the cam surfaces 17-17 s o as to be lifted or lowered thereby and thus cause an opening and closing of the needle valve according to the portion of the cam engaged. The switch mechanism is of the general type shown and described in Patent No. 753,381, dated NIarc-h 8, 1904, in which the switch arms snap four times for each complete revolution of the switch spindle, 3 being the stop plate, 32 the catch and 33 the means for actuating the catch plate so as to free it from the stops on the stop plate when the spindle is given a full throw. As is well known in such switches, when the spindle is moved from its initial position with the circuit-closed, it can bev moved through an arc of some 90 before the switch plates are released so as to snap forward and open the circuit, returning to its initial position if released before the switch plates move. I

have utilized this return movement to par- Y. tially re-open the needle valve so that it will always be partially open after the operating handle of the switch has been released and has returned to initial position, when the current is on. I accomplish this result by providing the spindle 13 with the wings 12 and providing the valve 6 with the upwardly projecting wings 11-11, the space between the wings 11 and 12 being so proportioned as to have a predetermined angle of clearance permittinglost motion equal to approximately one-third the angle through which the spindle of the switch has to be turned before the switch isactuated. lith the parts so constructed and related a nearly complete movement of the switch handle, when the lateral projections 10 are in the pov sition shown in Fig. 5, will cause the lateral projections 10 to engage lower portions of the cam 17-17, as shown in Fig. 6, so as to permit -the spring 8 to nearly close the needle -valve and then as the spindle 13 with its wings 12 returns to initial position the needle valve is partially reopened so as to insure a substantial flow of water at Aall times when the current is on. If the flow of water is cut off entirely when the current is on the water surrounding the resist-ance will quickly boil out so that the resistance willbe burned out. This automatic opening guards against the danger of such burning out.- The lost motion also enables the needle valve, when open, to be partially closed and to be left in that position with the handle of the switch released, while medium hot water is being drawn. The grooves at the low spots 19 in the cams, which result in an abrupt iinal closing, also result in some flow of water until the current is entirely cut off,

so that, even if the switch handle is moved almost to the snapping point and manually held there, no damage by overheating can result. This prevents the danger' of having a thoughtless or mischievous person turn the mechanism so protected that its contacts' cannot be uncovered so as to be liable to be come wet or be short-circuited by mischievous persons. The cover should be secured by means such that it can be removed only by a skilled person provided with a special tool. One diiiiculty in securing covers for a switch of this sort in a satisfactory manner is that in the commercial manufacture of snap switches the bases, whether they are made of porcelain, vulcanite or other insulating material, are apt to vary in thickness while the covers when made in ordinary manufacture are of uniform dimensions.

In order to provide a proper securing means which can be applied and have suiiicient provision for variations inthe base thickness referred to, I provide the cover 20, having the ordinary insulating lining 21, and lsurrounding the spindle 15 of the switch mechanism, being perforated at the top. Through this perforation I insert a cup 22 having an external flange 23 at its top and a perforation in its bottom through which the spindle lpasses, this spindle being screw-threaded in the ordinary way as at 24. Screwed upon the spindle 24 so as to clamp the bottom of the cup 22 against the spring plate 25 of the switch, is a screw nut 26, provided with recesses 27 for a suitable spanner so that it can be firmly screwed in place and can not be removed without a Spanner or its equivalent. The depth of the cup is such that the flange 23 is somewhat above the upper edge of the perforation through the cover 20 so as to leave a space 27 which will be greater or less according to the variations in the thickness vof the bases 3 in various specimens of any type of switch commercially manufactured. This vcup 22 with the locking nut 26 holds the cover 2O against removal, but permits a slight movement thereof. In order to hold the cover 20 `snugly in position, I pro vide the switch handle with a spindle 28,

having a hexagon head 29 fitting in the correspondingly shaped base and held normally in retracted position by spring 30 bearing against a plate 31 held in the handle by upsetting a portion thereof. The handle is provided with a downward projection whose face 32 engages the upward surface of the cup 2O with pressure resulting from the action of the spring 30 when the spindle 28 is screwed upon the switch spindle 15 so as to hold the cover snugly in place. From the foregoing it will be seen that the cover is held in place not only by the spring handle in the ordinary way, but by additional locking means, which prevent removal by unauthorized persons.

In order to protect the connections be'- tween the resistance element and the switch from short-circuiting on account of accidental leakage and water resulting therefrom confined so as to become stagnant, I provide the., upper portion of the closure with a cavity 33 of considerable depth having drainage openings 33 in its lower por- .gtion and upon its bottom form two projec- -tions 34, through which pass headed bolts 35 constituting conductors connecting the ends of the resistance element with the switch'terminals 36, 37. These conductors are insulated from the metal closure by insulatingwashers 38 whichI also serve to make water-tight connections so as to pre vent the water passing from the tubular member to the cavity through the openin s through which the conductors pass. n order to connect these conductors 35 with the switch terminals, I provide plates 39 beneath their upper heads, the ends of which plates are in alinement with two ofA the terminals of the switch. These terminals are provided with screws 40 sufficiently long to pass downward through the terminals and switch base and into the aforesaid plates. The other two terminals 41, 42 are connected with line conductors which pass through the opening 43 into the cavity and are connected to their two switch terminals in the ordinary way. The terminals 36 and 4ll are controlled by one switch plate 44 and the terminals 37 and 42 are controlled by a second switch plate 45 so that when all four terminals are engaged by their respective switch plates,a circuit is completed from one of the external conductors through the contact4l, and thence through the contact 36 to the resistance 5, and thence through contact 37 and contact l42'to the other line conductor.

In'order to protect the line conductors against moisture a barrier 46 is formed risingvfrom the bottom of the cavity and surrounding said conductors as they enterthe cavity through the opening. An moisture leaking into the cavity ,grains out through the openings 33 without ali'ctingl the upper ends of the conductors 35 or the line conductors.

The heater device consists of an'elongated support 4 which is divided longitudinally into two parts 47, 47 on a plane passing through its axis, as shown in Fig. 9. Two

opposing faces on one side of its center arel a recess in which a fiat angular member 54 lies, having a laterally extending portion 55 forming a terminal connected by binding nuts to the other conductor, and being provided with a binding screw 56 which constitutes an anchorage at the upper end of the support. The resistance 5, wound in helical form so as to be springlike in its character, has one end secured to the upper anchorage 56 and is wound spirally around the two parts of the support in a spiral groove formed'therein so as to bring its other end adjacent to the lower anchorage 51 to which it is secured, being thereby held in position and also acting to hold the two parts of the support together. The conductors 5() and 54 act as dowel pins` to hold in alinement the two parts 47, 47 of the support. 57 is an open clip-ring, located in a groove at the lower end of the two parts of the support so as to hold them together, particularly" before the resistance is applied, and secured to its anchorages. The closure has on its under surface a recess or socket 58 in which the upper ends of the two parts of the support enter so as to be held therein and thereby properly centered from the spindle, the support itself being held in place by the connection of the terminals 52, 55 with the conductors 35. The support is provided with a central bore through which the valve stem or rod passes.

As will be evident to those skilled in the art, my invention permits of various modi- 'ications without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is: 1. In an electric heater faucet. the combination of a rotary snap-switch having a spindle tending to return to initial position when moved insufficiently to actuate said switch, a water valve which when opened is fully closed by a complete actuating movement of said spindle, a lost motion connection' between saidspindle and said valve, returning said valy'e to a definite partially open position when said spindle retracts to initial position after a nearly complete actuating movement and a resistance element in series with lsaid switch for heating water controlled by said valve.

2. ln an electric heater faucet, the combination of a rotary snap-switch, a valve.

seat, aA vertically moving needlevvalve acting therewith, a cam having a high spot and a low spot and surrounding said needle valve, a cross-piece carried by said needle valve and engaging said cam, a spring holding `said needle valve toits valve seat, and a lost `.motion connection mechanically connecting said cross-piece and the .spindle of sai switch, said high spot of said cam being engaged by said cross-piece when said switch is in closed circuit position and a resistance element in series with said switch for heating Water controlled by said valve.

3. In an electric heater faucet, the combination of a rotary snap-switch, a valve seat, a vertically moving needle valve acting therewith, a cam having ahigh spot and -a low spot and surrounding said needle valve, a cross-piece carried by said needle valve and engaging said cam, means for holding said needle valve to its valve seat, and a mechanical connection between said crosspiece and the spindle of said switch, said igh spot of said cam being engaged by said cross-piece `when said switch is in closed circuit position,said mechanical connection comprising winged portions on said valve and spindle having an angle of clearance providing lost motion so that said valve is left vpartially open after said spindle has been partially actuated with the switch in closed position, and permitted to retract to its rinitial position and a resistance element in series with said switch for heating water controlled by said valve.

4.' ln an electric water heater, the combination of a tubular member having a port at one end, a valve for said port, a rod rotatable for actuating said valve, a closure for the other end ofv said tubular member having a lateral discharge port leading from the interior of said tubularmember, and a stuffing box throughwhich said rotatable valve rod extends, a resistance within said tubular member and a rotary snap-switch on said closure controlling said resistance, and having a spindle connected to said valve rod, said closure having on the side remote from said tubular member a cavity provided with a lateral drainage opening and having raised portions rising from the bottom of said cavity, conductors passing through said raised portions and insulated packing therefor, said conductors electrically connecting said resistance with terminals of said switch, said switch being located on said closure outside of said cavity.

5. In an electric heater, the combination,

of an elongated insulating support longitudinally divided so that the respective portions have opposing faces, one of said two opposing faces having a recess formed therein and extending approximately the length of an elongated insulating support longie tudinally divided sothat the respective portions have opposing faces, and in one of said two opposing faces having a recess formed therein and extending approximately the length thereof, a conductor lying in said recess and having exposed portions at cach end of said support, one of said' exposed portions forming an anchorage and the other aA terminal, a second anchorage carried by the end of said support remote from said first anchorage and also constituting a terminal, a resistance element secured to said two anchorages and wound helically upon said support, a member having a socket containing one end of said support and insulated conductors passing through said member and secured to said terminals so as to hold the end of said support within said socket, said socket and conductor holding the two parts of the support together.

7. In an electric heater, the combination of an elongated insulating support longi-4 tudinally divided so that Vthe respective portions have opposing faces, said opposing faces each having recesses formed therein and extending approximately the length thereof, said recesses opposing one another, a conductor lying partly in one of said recesses and partly in the other and having exposed portions at each end of said support, one of said exposed portions forming an anchorage and the other a terminal, a second anchorage carried 4by the end of said support remote from said first anchorage and also constituting a terminal, and a resistance element secured to said two anchorages and wound helically upon said support so as to hold the parts of said support together.

GEORGE H. HART.

etc 

